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A well-defined annual cycle has been observed in the upper 50 meters of the Black Sea and inter-annual and decadal variability have been estimated, primarily in the coastal zone. By extending the duration of the available time series and filling gaps in the data sets, we will be able to assess long-term changes in deep-ocean areas. Some preliminary results have already been obtained. They show a relatively strong low-frequency signal that apparently is the response of an enclosed sea to climatic changes in the Europe-North Atlantic climate system (see figure).

In addition, a recently discovered new source of deep-water formation in the Aegean Sea can likely be linked to year-to-year fluctuations in the Black Sea outflow.

The Sound Speed Structure Many aspects of Black Sea hydrography are poorly described in the oceanographic literature. An important example is the Black Sea sound speed structure. Undoubtedly this structure was sufficiently investigated for practical uses but the results were seldom published. The sound speed structure, as a reflection of a particular thermohaline structure, has more in common with the Baltic Sea or even the Nordic Seas than with the adjacent Mediterranean Sea. This research will present not only a general description of the mean sound speed field, the SOFAR channel, and their statistical parameters but will also describe the peculiarities in frontal zones caused by local water exchange (river mouths, straits).